In Their Eyes
by loveinrain
Summary: Annie is temporarily blinded by acid during a mission and Auggie helps her through it.


AN: I am not 100% happy with this story but I like the overall idea so I decided to put it up anyway. That being said, enjoy :)

Annie coughed and spluttered, as the sprinklers on the roof turned to life at the smell of fire. The first drop hit her and she screamed as she stumbled backward, covering her face with her hands as her eyes burned.

"Annie? Annie, can you hear me?" Auggie's voice rang through her ear piece.

Annie cried out in pain again as a searing-hot burning sensation erupted across her face. It felt like lava was seeping in through her eyes and pooling around at the back of her irises. She continued to scream, wails of agony, and Auggie's voice became more urgent.

"Annie, what's going on?" He demanded.

Annie couldn't find her voice. She couldn't find her hearing, either. Auggie's concerned voice was fading. And her eyes; they didn't hurt anymore. There was a numbing dullness, but there was no fire anymore. She pulled her hands away, but could not see.

There were several sounds around her sirens and alarms, and then everything fell silent. She no longer heard Auggie's voice and before she could even form the words in her mind, the floor slipped from beneath her and she began to fall.

The last thing she heard before she completely fainted was Auggie's voice, "Go get her. Now!"

There was nothing but white. Her eyes were open, but she could see nothing but white. It surrounded her, engulfed her, it _was_ her. She could smell disinfectant, and lots of it. She felt crisp white sheets beneath her. She could move her body, but she could not see.

"Annie? Can you hear me?" She blinked twice. No difference.

"Annie?" Something shook her shoulders.

She groaned.

"Annie?"

"I can hear you, Joan." Annie replied, shifting her position.

She heard an exhale of relief. "Thank goodness. You gave us all a right scare, Annie."

Annie snorted. I gave _you_ a right scare? She thought to herself. "How long have I been here for?"

"An hour and a bit. Do you remember what happened?"

She tried to organize her thoughts. "There was a fire, at the warehouse, the sprinklers, the water, it burned."

There was a pause. Then she heard Auggie's voice. "It wasn't water, it was acid." Annie could detect the slight anger in his voice. "The mission had been compromised, Vaz knew we were going to the warehouse to take the Intel from the briefcase, he moved it right before we got there then burned the place, the acid was just an extra precaution."

Acid, that explained the burning pain but what about her eyes, she was still seeing white. "I can't see."

She registered Joan's voice as she replied. "The acid from the sprinklers got into your eyes, you're temporarily blind" She heard Auggie's voice in the background. "Welcome to my world"

"What's temporary?" She asked. Joan once again responded. "The doctor says the acid should filter through by tomorrow and you should have your full eyesight back by then."

Okay, so it wasn't completely bad news, Auggie had been blind for years; if he could do it then surely she could for a day. "So this is what it's like for you Auggie?" She heard him chuckle and could almost feel the amusement radiating of off him. It was weird how after only being blind for a few minutes Annie could already tell her other senses had heightened. She could hear Joan shuffling through papers on a file and smelled Auggie's subtle cologne. How did he deal with the sensory overload?

Joan's voice startled her. "Obviously you can't work in your state but we can't send you home how you are now, so call your sister and inform her that you will not be coming home today, what you tell her is up to you." Annie grumbled under her breath she hated lying to her sister.

"Where will I go? Please don't make me stay here." Annie hated hospitals, they always brought bad news and made her anxious and jittery, there was no way she could spend the night here. Joan must have noticed the expression on her face. "You'll be spending the night at Auggie's place."

She could almost hear Auggie's smile. "Lucky you, many women would do unspeakable things to be in your position." Despite the situation Annie couldn't help but smile, there was no one she would rather spend the time with than Auggie and there was no one that would be able to help her through the day the most

She heard the stepping of feet and the cologne get stronger as Auggie neared her side. His hand reached her arm as he helped her feet before hooking his arm through hers. "I guess the tables have turned huh?" Annie said while Auggie handed her a cane.

"I guess they have."

Joan had arranged to have someone drop them off at Auggie's house since neither of them could drive. Annie had only been here a couple of times and had somewhat of a layout of what the house looked like so she was hoping that would help her to not bump into anything. Auggie guided her to the couch by the hand and she noted that his hands were very gentle, not soft per say like you would expect a woman's hand to be, on the contrary the skin was rough with calluses but his movements were gentle as if he was afraid of breaking her. She felt her knees hit an edge and turned around to fall back into the couch, she felt the weight shift as Auggie sat down next to her casually setting his arm behind her head.

"How do you deal with it?" She dared to ask the questing that had been fumbling in her mind. "With the sensory overload?" Auggie's lips turned up into a smile.

"I rather enjoy it, when you're missing one of your key senses you tend to pay more attention to the little things that normal people would overlook. For example your Joe Malone grapefruit perfume combined with your vanilla shampoo and the soft yet thick texture of your hair and the light clicking of your heels as you walk and countless other things. Are you experiencing some of it?"

"Yes." She whispered.

Her fingers trailed along the walls, all the walls, yet she couldn't find the sink. Her mouth was dry. She needed water now – the thirst made her weak, and she could barely stand. She wished Auggie was here to help her instead of taking a shower.

She felt around a counter she had discovered in the opposite corner of the room, searching for a cup. She kept knocking things over, making a lot of noise. She didn't care. All she cared about was satiating the thirst.

"Hey," a voice murmured from her side, and she jumped as Auggie's hand landed on her back.

"What are you looking for?" his voice was gentle as his hand moved from her back.

"Water." She grumpily replied. "I'm dying of thirst."

She listened for his retreating footsteps, but they never came. She jumped again when she felt his warm hand close around her wrist. He slowly moved her hand upwards as he inadvertently moved closer to her while they reached for the cabinet handle. She quickly realized he was still shirtless from the shower and her back tensed up but he didn't seem to notice. He laced his fingers through hers and they gripped the handle before slowly opening it and she felt the smoothness of plastic collide with her fingertips.

Auggie placed the plastic cup in her hands and guided her in the direction of the sink where she filled the cup up with the water.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"Don't hesitate to ask for help Annie. When I first came home after my accident I was constantly bumping into things and breaking stuff." She heard his voice lower as he moved into the room to change.

It was cold. Far too cold. Annie shivered as she carefully walked towards the couch and felt around the space within a two meter radius of her, but found nothing that could cover up her body, to hide herself from the approaching coldness. She continued to shiver, and her teeth clattered in the silence of the room. Was Auggie back in the room?

Her unspoken question was answered when she felt something warm drape across her shoulders. She inhaled, and recognized the faint musky smell of Auggie's expensive cologne.

"I can hear your teeth clattering." He explained.

She thanked him and tried to focus on the sound of his presence. He still stood a few feet away from her, towering over her crumpled form. She forced herself to sit up.

"Auggie?"

"Yeah?" his answer came right away.

She hesitated. "Can I ask you something?"

He hesitated, too. "You may."

She inhaled. "What do you see? Blurry? Back? White?"

"I see black. What do you see?"

Annie frowned she couldn't imagine what I would be like to just look at darkness all day at least she was lucky enough to be able to see everything white. She paused, and then answered his question.

Almost a minute ticked past, and the room remained quiet. Then, out of nowhere, she felt him at her side. The couch sank under him as he sat. She could feel him close to her. So close that she could feel the warmth of his skin.

"What time is it?" She asked to distract herself. She felt his movement as he opened his watch.

"Five-thirty," it answered mechanically.

Silence filled the room once more. It was deafening, and Annie couldn't stand it. It was an awkward silence. She couldn't even stand it when it came to her best friend. She pressed her lips together, wracking her brain for something to say, but she couldn't find anything. The silence dragged on and on until her eyelids became heavier than she could stand and she finally gave into sleep's call.

Annie woke with a start to the sound of a cough. She noticed that where her head lay was different than the hard fabric of the couch. It was soft, warm, comforting even. She raised her hand and let it drop beside her head. Her knuckles collided with something bony. She began prodding it. A kneecap?

"Watch it, that hurts." A deep voice uttered just above her face.

She sat upright, but on the way her hand came in contact with something hard, and the next thing she heard was a groan emitted from Auggie's mouth. She gasped when she realized she had hit him. Quite violently, too.

"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed as she felt around in the darkness for his face. She found him clutching onto his nose with his hands. His eyes were screwed up, and he was shaking beneath her touch.

She bit her lip as she waited for his tensed body to relax.

He made an odd noise with his mouth. "You really know where it hurts the most, don't you." His voice was strained with pain he was so obviously trying to hide.

She blushed. "I'm sorry," she repeated sheepishly.

"Nah, it's okay. Nothing I can't handle."

The minutes ticked past in silence. Annie ascertained Auggie was okay before she spoke again.

"How come you let me sleep on you?" It was an odd question to ask, especially coming from her to him.

He chuckled. She was relieved to hear he was back to his old self again. Obviously the pain had subsided. "You were dead asleep and your head just fell onto my lap. I couldn't move you; you looked like you'd rip my head off if I touched you."

She blushed again. "I wouldn't have." Suddenly she felt his hand on her check.

"You're blushing." He concluded for them heat on her face.

She looked away.

She felt his fingers under her chin, then. "Are you hungry?"

She took a minute to think about this. "No."

His fingers remained under her chin. She could hear his heavy breathing.

"What are you doing?" She asked nervously.

"Studying your face."

She swallowed hard. "What do you feel?"

He deliberated, but not in a way to make her doubt the truth in his answer. He seemed to be seriously considering her question. "I feel natural skin as soft as silk with a hint of warmness form your blush." His hands moved outward on her face. "I feel dimples on your cheeks and a smile slowly starting to grow." Now his hands were in her hair and she shivered as they slowly made their way to her neck. "I see a beauty."

With his hands still on her neck Annie moved her own hands towards his face. She felt him squirm slightly as he felt her hands on him but quickly relaxed into her touch. "I feel a clean shaven, face, and smile lines along your mouth." Her hand moved lower towards his chest. "I feel the hard muscles you work so hard to keep." Her hand moved to the left. "I feel your heart picking up speed."

He exhaled ruggedly as his fingers trailed from under her chin to across her jaw line, and up by her temple. "What's happening?" She whispered, half scared, half exhilarated.

He expelled a hot breath onto her face. "I don't know."

She closed her eyes. It wasn't necessary, but somehow it made her feel that much braver. "Auggie?"

"Mmm?" his reply was lazy as if his eyes were closed too.

She pictured him smiling. "This feels different."

He nodded. "Different, but nice."

"Yeah, nice."

She could sense his face – it was a mere few inches away from her.

"Annie?" His mouth was an inch from hers.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that when you can see again, this will still be the same? Will we still be the same?" There was uncertainty in his voice, an emotion she had never once linked to a Auggie before.

"No," she answered truthfully, thinking, "Things will be different. But different in a good way." As the words left her mouth, she knew they were the truth.

She took a deep breath "I wish you could see me."

Without missing a beat Auggie replied. "I can see you."

And then his lips were on hers.

Her lips cradled his perfectly, warm and moist. His hand slipped into her hair, soft strands brushing against the back of his wrist, fingers curling around the back of her neck. He pulled her close, eyes falling shut, breath picking up and letting out a soft gasp of shocking delight. His tongue peeked out, reaching for hers, finding the sweet flavor of her pink tongue. She'd recently brushed her teeth and washed her hair, he could taste the mint, smell the light scent of coconut. She'd put lotion on her body too, he could smell it on her neck.

Her hands were wrapped around his shoulders, fingers digging in, bringing him closer. He nipped at her top lip, tongue running over it a moment later. Their noses bumped and he smiled into her mouth, teeth lightly claiming her bottom lip and tugging it as he pulled her up from his side and into his lap. Her body pressed into his and he let out a low groan of approval. She fit perfectly, thighs against his sides, legs curled outside of his, arms moving to circle his neck and shoulders. She arched up, her chest pressing into him and her head falling back, revealing her long neck to him.

Auggie kissed down her chin and slowly trailed across her throat. His tongue peeked out to taste her skin, teeth gently nipping at her. One hand settled on the small of her back, keeping her close, while the other still sat tangled at the nape of her neck, fingers caressing her skin and wrapping in her soft hair.

They sat there lost in each other's embrace and kisses until the world melted away and all they cared about was each other.

Sunshine. It filtered through the high-ceilinged windows and bathed Annie's face in warmth. She opened her eyes and allowed the morning colors to engulf her. She smiled at the beauty of them all, all mixed together to display a masterpiece before her very eyes.

Eyes.

She gasped, surprised at how quickly she had forgotten she was blind. _Had_ been blind. And now she wasn't. To her surprise she wasn't as excited as she thought she'd be. Being blind had given her a connection with Auggie that she'd never have again.

Something stirred beneath her, and she glanced down to find said man asleep on the couch. She had her arm draped across his chest, and he held her protectively in his loose embrace. Her heart skipped several beats as she stared down at him. He looked so different when he was asleep … so serene. It was exactly how she had pictured him for the entirety of the night before.

She was glad that he could not see her right at that moment, however. Because being blind had taken away one of her senses, but it had given her another. In the hours they had spent together, she had unconsciously come to realize her true feelings for him.

Too bad it had taken her until she had been blind to realize it.

AN Just a short little oneshot that wouldn't leave me alone in the middle of the night. Hope you liked it and let me know what you think :)


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